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tv   Margaret Thatcher  CSPAN  April 17, 2013 4:15pm-7:15pm EDT

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people who saw something and are going to try to say something with all of us. this is all hands on deck and everyone wants to help, this is a good way for everybody to be part of the solution. unfortunately, such tragic acts of terror serve as a reminder for the critically important mission given to the department of homeland security. crafting a budget for an agency this complex and important is never easy and it's particularly challenging in this fiscal environment. the administration's $39 billion budget deficit request makes some very tough choices. it cuts the department's budget by roughly 2%, below 2012 levels. but it's the least consistent with what the congress appropriated in 2013 for the epartment. stepping back and thinking of all the challenges that our country and this department have faced since 2009,
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christmas day bomber, time square bomber, yemen cargo bomb plot, hurricane sandy and the ever-changing and ever-growing cyberthreat, and now the boston attack, it's easy to become concerned with this budget request. that said, we're facing extremely difficult budgetary times and sacrifices must be made. and while i recognize important missions may not receive all of the funds they or we would want in a perfect world, all departments and agencies in government must share in the sacrifice to some extent required to iranian in our deficit -- rein in our deficit. our secretary seems to have taken this message to heart. identifying some $1.3 billion in cost savings this year and more than $4 billion since 2009 and continues to move to a risk-based approach, an effort to save more money. but to do so in a smart way. i'm happy to see in this budget proposes a much-needed increase for cybersecurity which will help the department fulfill its significant cyberresponsibilities.
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passing legislation to compliment the president's executive order and address the cyberthreat is one of our highest priorities. i also welcome the administration's continued commitment to securing our nation's borders by maintaining staffing for the border patrol its ath its current historic levels and adding more than 3,400 protection officers to staff our ports of entry. these critical resources are paid for in part with modest fee increases. during my recent trips to our borders in arizona, where secretary napolitano, senator mccaul nd congresswoman joined me, i've been and heard from local mayors, from business leaders from front line officers, i've heard them say they need more help at our ports of entry. especially our ports of entry.
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i hear the same comments when i visit in texas later this month, i think april 30 and may 1. i want to say to my colleagues, for anyone who is interested in, a day and a half, going down to the boarder in texas, the late afternoon, april 30, and all day on may 1. that i welcome you to join us. i believe that if something's worth having, it's worth paying for. and it's worth it to americans to better facilitate trave trade and travel at our ports of entry, we need to pay for it. that's why i degree with the president's proposal to use modest increases to pay for more customs and border patrol officers. these efforts will build on the tremendous progress we've made in scuring the border over the past decade. i look forward to reviewing the immigration bill introduced this morning. think at 1:45 by senator mccain and senators durbin and schumer and others of our colleagues, to make sure that the bill makes smart investments in border security, focused on deploying force, multiplires that can help our front line agents be more
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effective and efficient. lastly i was encouraged to see the increase in funding for the consolidation of the department's headquarters which i visited earlier this week. 105 -- $105 million in request, in conjunction with the money that the general services administration has requested, will yield more save togs taxpayers by allowing us to stop leasing buildings all over the d.c. metro area, dozens of buildings all over the dks metro area, and help the department at the same time to improve management and increase morale. among them, major departments in our federal government, department of homeland security has had and continues to have the lowest ranking morale. i think there's a reason for. that one of the reasons is they're scattered to the winds. they need to be a unit, joined together at a central location. we're going to try to do that. i know it's a tough, heavy lift but it's one we started. made huge investments. i think $1 billion investment
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in infrastructure. we stop now, we have huge investments in infrastructure and not much there connecting infrastructure to it. i don't think that's a very smart investment. with that said, i'm concerned that this budget's significant cuts to several key homeland priorities may be penny wise and pound foolish. cuts to management, for instance, are short sighted and will undermine the progress the department has made in this area. last year for the first time the department of homeland security earned as you know a qualified opinion on all of its fiscal year 2011 financial statementless. and in its latest high-risk report, the general accountability office confirmed that there's been considerable progress to the department in integrating its components and in strengthening its management. we're looking for a clean audit in 2014 and applaud the progress that's been made. we cannot lose this moment um. better management will yield better results and stewardship of taxpayer dollars. i'm also concerned about the proposed reduction in front line personnel at immigration and customs enforcement. a section known as i.c.e. as we work to reform our
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immigration laws, i believe that i.c.e. will play a critical role. these reductions there could undermine our efforts to implement new reforms. i'm sure we'll revisit this during the course of the hearing. we also need to do a better job of managing our detention efforts to ensure that criminals are kept off the streets while acknowledging that the squeft ration that congress -- esqueft ration that congress launch -- sequestration that congress launched is partly to blame. another area of concern is the $714 million request to fund the construction of the national bio anding a row defense facilities in kansas. we've talked about. this i'm sure we'll talk about it more today the and i understand the importance of studying animal diseases, but i hope we can avoid providing full funding, $700 million some, full funding, to 2014 alone, for a multi-year construction probably. y building a building in lodge
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cal segments, taking away resources from other facilities like i.c.e. and the coast guard and fema, maybe even management moneys that we need from the department. and finally, i'm concerned by proposed cuts and the support that the homeland security provides to state and local governments and first responders through homeland security grants, exercises in training and as we saw clearly this week in state and local officials are the ones who will inevitably be on the front line responding to terrorist attacks. my friend always reminds us we need to be risk-based and we need to keep that in mind particularly as we consider these grants to our state and local colleagues. while acknowledging that our approach must be risk-based, i want to ensure that the continue is able to
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to help state and local responders with the plans, training and equipment they need to respond effectively as they did so in boston this week. the elephant in the room, of course, is squeft ration. if -- see squeft ration. it would take another 5% off the department's limited budget. these cuts would interfere with the department's operation and management and with its ability to fulfill its missions, we must find a better way to deal ith our budget crisis. finally, as my colleagues have heard me say, i favor a grand bargain. a grand bargain does three things. one, raises revenues, close to the levels that existed in the last four years of the clinton administration, we actually had four balanced budgets in a row. number two, to enact entitlement reform. it saves money, avoids savaging older people and poor people. and actually saves these programs for future generationless. and finally, the third element would be to look never nook and cranny of the federal government and ask this question, how can we get a better result for less money in everything that we do? now i believe is the time to make this grand bargain. the cost of failure to do so is
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just too high for all of us. now let me turn to dr. coburn for any comments he would like to make at this time. welcome. thank you. >> thank you. madam secretary, welcome. appreciate your service. a lot to go through today. i'm one of the few members of congress that has supported your idea of consolidating our grant programs and i commend you on that and i will -- you'll have my help in working toward that with the caveat that we actually do a much better job in terms of putting metrics on those grants and that they are truly risk-based. so i'll be there to help do you that. there are a lot of areas where we're not effective in homeland -- homeland security grants today. i also would comment, if you read the constitution and you look at the powers, a lot of what we have done isn't our role. it's the state and local role. and what we've done is we've created some learned dependency
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out there that the individual states and communities are going to have to free themselves of. because the budget parameters are not going to allow us to be the source for what they need. on top of that is the point that we cannot spend enough money to give us 100% guarantee of security. the other thing we can't do is we cannot get security to the level that we're going to compromise our liberty. so we have those two texts -- tensions that are going forward. i have to say, do i trust you. in terms of your vision of trying to do the best. to balance those tensions. and i look forward to working with you so that we can move more of these dollars to risk-based prevention rather than parochial-based. most people in this room don't know that the fights that we have at markups, when the parochial displaces the primesy of risk-based needs.
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and there's nothing wrong with fighting for your state, but there's plenty wrong when you fought for your state and resources which could have been used to prevent something aren't available at the highest risk place. the last point i'd make, with this large budget, and i would tell my colleague, sequestration's going to stay. that level of funding is not going up. we are not going to go back on the pledge to the american people, to trim down the size of the federal government. and one of the positive things that's coming out of sequestration is innovation. and judgment. and making hard decisions. my wish would be that the president would ask us for more flexibility. he's refused to do so. but i think eventually we're going to see that request and my hope is the congressman's going to give you more flexibility. so that you can actually make the judgments that we're paying you to make. with all that comes the very
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thing that every other family in this country's doing. they're doing more with less. instead of less with more. and the number one charge to your agency is to do more with less. and that's across this government, it's going to have to happen. it's the only way we get out and create a future for the generations that follow us. so, i look forward to your testimony. i'm a supporter when it comes to reforming the things that you need to actually do your job. and i'll be there to help you. thank you. >> thanks. before i introduce secretary napolitano, i want to thank senator eye camp and senator ayot and senator johnson and senator barben. a couple of refugees from madison, wisconsin, out there in the audience. would you raise your hands and say hello to one of your two senators? former delawareans. we're happy to see them. i may interrupt this hearing for a minute or two. once we have nine people here, that gives us a quorum to consider the nomination of
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. lvia matthews burwell -- secretary napolitano, again, thank you, and f.b.i. director muller, yesterday for joining us last evening and for classified briefing in the capitol. on boston, the tragedy. we want to welcome you here today as our secretary led the department, i think, since 2009, and starting her second term. we're glad you came here for a second hitch. given the recent bombings in boston, we appreciate your efforts. times you lead. we also want to offer you any time if you want to take any, if there are any updates you want to provide for the ongoing efforts in boston. and you're now recognized to do that and for your statement. thank you. welcome. >> thank you, chairman carper and ranking member coburn, members of the committee.
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for the opportunity to discuss the president's fiscal year 2014 budget request for the department of homeland security. before i begin, as the chairman acknowledged, i would like to say a few words about the attack in boston. our thoughts and our prayers remain with the victims and their families and with the city of boston. d.h.s. is in fact a big part of the boston community. hundreds of our men and women go to work in the city every day. and across the region they protect the traveling public, they secure critical infrastructure, they patrol ports and waterways, they help investigate crimes and enforce federal laws and support our state and local partners. so the attack directly affected d.h.s. in many ways. i personally have been speaking with the governor, the mayor, the police commissioner, members of the massachusetts congressional delegation, as others, assuring them that we will do all question to bring whomever is responsible support
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the attack to justice. as president obama has said, the f.b.i. is investigating this as an act of terrorism. and the full force of the federal government will support the response and the investigation. there is no current indication to suggest the attack was indicative of a broader plot but out of caution, we continue to keep in place enhanced security measures, both seen and unseen in coordination with the federal, state and local partners. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> we'll leave this program and go back to the house where they're voting on the first amendment of the cybersecurity bill. h.r. 624. will the gentleman from texas, mr. mar shan, kindly take the chair. -- mr. marchant kindly take the chair. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the further consideration of h.r.
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624 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to provide for the sharing of certain cyberthreat intelligence and cyberthreat information between the intelligence community and cybersecurity entities and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole rose earlier today a request for a recorded vote on amendment number 4 printed in house report 113-41 offered by the gentleman from rhode island, mr. rang vin, had been postponed -- mr. langevin, had been postponed. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will resume on those items in house report that were 3-31 postponed. amendment number one, amendment number two and amendment number four. the chair will reduce to two minutes the minimum time for
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any electronic vote after the first vote of this series. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 1 printed in house report 113-41 by the gentleman from michigan, mr. rogers, on which further proceedings will be postponed on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 1 prinned in house report 113-41. offered by mr. rogers of michigan. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered. the members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or
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commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 418, the nays are zero. he amendment is adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 2 printed in the house report, 113-41, by the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly on which further
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proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed on a voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 2 printed in house report 113-41 offered by mr. connolly of virginia. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the s. house of representatives.]
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the chair: on this vote, the yeas are 418 and the nays are zero. the amendment is adopted.
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the unfinished business is request for recorded vote on amendment number 4, printed in house report 113-41 by the gentleman from rhode island, mr. language vin, of which further proceedings -- langevin of which further proceedings were postponed. the clerk: amendment number 4 printed in house report number 113-41, offered by mr. langevin of rhode island. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request of a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of epresentatives.]
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the chair: on this vote, the yeas were 411, the nays are 3, the amendment is adopted.
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the chair: for what purpose does gentleman rise? >> i move that the committee do now rise. the chair: those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. . the yeas have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the committee rises. the chair: the committee of the whole house having had under consideration, directs me to report that they have come to no resolution thereon the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration h.r. 624 and has come to no
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resolution thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the ouse will be in order, please. he house will be in order. order, please, in the house. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today to
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meet at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chair announces the speaker's apointment pursuant to section 4-b of the world war i centennial commission act and the order of the house of january 3, 2013 on the part of the house to the world war i centennial commission. >> lieutenant colonel moe of lancaster, ohio.
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the speaker pro tempore: the house will come to order, please. for what purpose does the entlelady from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to place appropriately in the record that i would have under the cybersecurity bill, voted -- the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: please take your conversations off the floor. he house will be in order. the gentlewoman may continue. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to place in the record at the appropriate place that i would have voteda on the rogers' amendment,a on the connelly
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anda nt and -- connolly on the langevin amendment on the underlying legislation and i acknowledge that i was not present and i was unavoidbly detained with meetings in my office. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. s. jackson lee: thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: 100 years ago, congress passed the 1914
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legislative executive and judicial appropriations act, which established a separate department within the library of congress to serve the legislative and research needs of the united states congress. the legislation authorized the library of congress to, and i quote, employ competent persons to prepare such indexes, compilations of law as may be required for congress and other official use. in 1946, the department was renamed the legislative reference service, which is today known as the congressional research service or c.r.s. c.r.s. has served the congress by providing reliable legislative research and analysis in a timely, objective manner. this year is the 100th anniversary of the congressional research service and i thank the research professionals for the work they do and the contributions they make to the united states congress and our federal legislative process. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise?
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>> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, last week, members of the safe climate caucus challenged the republicans who are on the energy and commerce committee to come to the floor and debate with us and talk about the problems of climate change. mr. waxman: we wrote them a letter and we haven't even gotten a reply. there seems to be a conspiracy of silence in the house of representatives about the dangers of climate change and it's time for a real debate on the house floor. every day, members of the safe climate caucus have come to this floor to give speeches on topics relating to climate change, including the importance of preparing communities to mitigate the impacts of extreme
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weather events, clean energy technologies and the threats of rising temperatures across the country. in contrast, we are not aware of any republican member who has spoken on the house floor about the dangers of climate change and the committee of jurisdiction is not even willing to hold a hearing to hear what the scientists and experts have to say about the issue. i have a message to house republicans, you can't make climate change go away by ignoring the problem. . . . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from washington rise? mrs. mcmorris rodgers: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: thank you, madam speaker. today, our hearts remain heavy -- our hearts are heavy for those who lost their lives on monday's unspeakable act of violence. for those who remain in critical condition, for the
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parents who lost their 8-year-old son, and for the families whose loved ones never came home from the boston marathon. while our sorrow is great, so, too, is our resolve. we are committed to working with law enforcement officers to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and we are committed to stopping acts of terror on u.s. soil and abroad. we will remain vigilant, demand answers and seek justice. for there is nothing we take more seriously than the protection of american life. and in our sorrow, we will find ratitude for the firefighters, paramedics, police officers and first responders who put their lives at risk to help save others. in the words of ronald reagan, i know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and there's purpose and worth to each and every life. so today let us come together
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as americans, as moms and dads, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, and continue to pray for those whose lives were forever changed. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. capps: madam speaker, earlier today, the energy and commerce committee passed for the third time in two years a bill to force approval of the keystone x.l. pipeline. i voted against the bill for many reasons, but key among them is the fact that it doubles down on a dead end energy policy that's hurting our economy, hurting our environment and our health. burning fossil fuels is a primary cause of climate change, and we simply can't afford to continue down this
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destructive path. it makes far more sense to focus on developing the clean, renewable energy technologies that we all know we're going to need down the road. developing these technologies will create quality, long-term jobs that can't be shift overseas. it's good for business. it's good for our planet. it's good for our national security. there's no reason why we can't put aside our differences and take action to promote a clean energy future. it's what our constituents sent us here to do. our window of opportunity is rapidly closing. the time to act is now. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, the house has been considering h.r. 624, the so-called cispa bill. although it ensures that a
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person's internet data would be stripped of personal identityification, this bill allows this data to be allowed to prosecute certain federal crimes. how will it do this? the government can then seek a warrant to obtain that personally identifying information. that makes it the functionally equivalent of the writs of assistance used by the crown in colonial times. mr. mcclintock: before the government can invade your privacy, it must first present a court with reasonable cause to believe that you have committed a crime. this bill effectively allows the government to search through your personal records indiscriminantly and then use that information to form the basis of a prosecution. cybersecurity is an important national security issue, but it does not trump the bill of rights or the american freedoms that our constitution protects. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition?
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mr. johnson: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. johnson: thank you, madam speaker. today, i rise to cite the fact that the american people and democrats and scientists agree that climate change is a danger to us all. but where are the republicans? a week ago i joined my colleagues in the safe climate caucus to challenge the republican members of the energy and commerce committee to debate the nation's response to climate change on the house floor. we received no response. it's time for real debate on the house floor about the dangers of climate change. we already are seeing the powerful forces and the effects of nature. we are witnessing the predictions of our premiere scientists come true and they are alarming. we've seen catastrophic storms, record heat waves, droughts and
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wildfires. top scientists in the u.s. and around the world tell us that impacts like these will get worse as climate change continues. there's no debate that -- about the science of climate change. mr. speaker, it's time -- or, madam speaker, it's time for debate on how to solve climate change, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i am pleased to support that the dolphin county high school junior rotc received gold star status. this honor places the junior rotc in the top 10% of the nation. mr. collins: this is a reflection of each cadet's hard work and the investment of parents, instructors and the junior rotc. i have admiration for those in the junior rotc in georgia and throughout the united states. this instills the value of
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citizenship, service, personal responsibility and the next generation of leaders. i anticipate great things from these young men and women in the future and which the dolphin county high school junior rotc continued success, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. cohen: i ask unanimous consent to speak to the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cohen: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to recognize the 40th anniversary of the founding of fedex, one of the world's great companies. cording to c.e.o. fred smith first introduced this in a paper which got him a c on the paper. we want to thank him for that c paper. it had 186 packages set for delivery. that first day fedex flew to 25 cities from the home base in memphis which remains the world headquarters. today, fedex has grown to ship more than nine million parcels
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daily. fedex and fred smith has shown great generosity to memphis and the world. fred smith, a combat marine, who served two tours of duty in vietnam, served on the council that built the memorial here in washington. what's good for fedex is good for the nation. absolutely positively. i congratulate fred smith and fedex on 40 years of great service and i look forward to another great years of innovation and service. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. tonko: thank you, madam speaker. it is time for a real debate on climate change. right here on the house floor. the members of the safe climate caucus come to the floor to talk about this critical issue every day that the house is in
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session. but where are our republican colleagues? last week, we challenged the republican members of the energy and commerce committee to a debate, a debate about the appropriate policy response to the threats of climate change, but we've heard nothing from the republicans. the house republican leadership should schedule that debate right away. this problem is not going away. the longer we delay, the greater the risks. the energy and commerce committee has refused to act, for even to hear the latest science. congressman waxman and congressman rush has sent over 20 letters requesting hearings with scientists and other experts about important developments in climate science. but the republicans have refused to hold any hearings on climate change. the american public is entitled to an explanation for this disappointing record of inaction. madam speaker, we need to get serious about tackling climate change. that means having a debate about what actions should be taken. that debate is long overdue, and my friends, time is running
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out. with that i return the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. higgins: madam speaker, i rise today to talk about a remarkable man from buffalo, new york, john glanville. john was a diplomat for international development who was facilitating free elections in the sudan when five years ago he was assassinated in khartoum. four of his killers were captured and convicted but they escaped from prison. two remain at large and the state department has issued a $5 million reward for information leading to their capture. meanwhile, in february, the sudanese government pardoned the man who helped john's killers escape. madam speaker, john deserves better. he was a selfless and courageous man who dedicated his life to representing the
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united states and helping those who needed it the most. tomorrow, i'll introduce a resolution calling for sudan to remain on the state sponsors of terrorism list until the pardon is repealed and the escapees are captured again. i will also send a letter demanding that the president bashir rescind the pardon. john made our nation proud. i'll keep fighting to see that justice is served and that his memory is honored. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i rise to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> ladies and gentlemen, i join you today to share an amusing note that one of my constituents posted on facebook recently. he said, i carved my pumpkin and it was snowing outside. today, i dyed easter eggs and it's snowing outside. congratulations, mr. president, you solved global warming. now, that's amusing.
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and climate change is a serious issue, but we must recognize that we do not have this planet all to ourselves and that when the chinese are increasing 11-fold their profits on production of coal, when they are in fact have become the number one coal producer, when their equipment is about 30% to 50% less efficient than ours, we cannot solve our problem without a global solution and we must have the chinese act. mr. griffith: we've done our part to solve the problem. we need the chinese to do as well. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. larson: i rise to commend senators manchin and toomey to come up with a rational approach that 92% of americans all agree with and the need for universal background checks as it relates to our gun laws.
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the bill was taken up today in the senate, and the vote was 54-46. every fifth grader in america is astounded that that bill was defeated. only in the united states senate, the other body, could that take place. a vote of 54-46 would not pass. and so disheartening as it is and from reeling from the events that have taken place in boston on patriots day, children all across america cannot be reassured by their parents tonight that they are safe, but the n.r.a. will sleep well this evening. mission accomplished. but there's another chamber and an opportunity for the house of representatives to speak its will on the violence that has been perpetrated across this country and the commonsense background checks that are
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needed here in this country. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman yields back. the chair now lays before the house the following personal request. the clerk: leave of absence requested for mr. shimkus of illinois for today and tomorrow. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the request is granted. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announce d policy mr. barrr, 2013, is recognized. mr. barr: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to submit extraneous material. the idea that we are endo youed by our creator with certain
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inalienable rights that those are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. think about these words from jefferson and the declaration of independence for just a minute. the pursuit of happiness, the idea that every human being has a fundamental natural right to follow his or her dreams to reach for the stars to work hard to achieve their god-given potential without undue interference from the government. what is the key to happiness? i believe it to be hard work, a relentless desire on the part of the individual to improve efforts and hard work has been an american tradition from our very founding. benjamin franklin once said, it is the working man who is the happy man. it is the idle man who is the miserable man. so this story is the story of america. the work ethic defines who we
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are as a nation. it is in our d.n.a., unconstrained by excessive government, the industry and creativity of the american people has fueled the most prosperous and productive nation in the history of the world. so what gives americans or anyone else for that matter the character to pursue happiness? what animates our capacity to do work? in a word, energy, quite literally. the classic scientific definition of energy is the ability to do work. and americans' ability to perform work, to work hard and pursue happiness over the years has been supported by an abundant and affordable supply of domestic, american-produced energy. energy has been the indispensible ingredient in americans' ability to pursue happiness.
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think about it. the story of this country has been the story about american energy, coal, oil, natural gas, abundant, reliable, affordable energy has always been essential to a growing, national economy. it built the rail rods and conquered the west, it revolutionized communications and fostered innovation from henry ford to the wright brothers and nel armstrong and propelled us. energy always has been and always will be the key to americans' ability to work hard and pursue happiness. it is no surprise then that the countries with the best human health and the most material wealth on this planet are the countries with the highest levels of energy consumption. the most salient difference between nations in the developed world and nations in the
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lesser-developed world is that nations in the developed world produce and consume the most energy whereas nations in the lesser developed parts of the world produce and consume the least. and so before us, we have a choice. and it's a choice between two futures. the first is a future of energy freedom, and independence, in which we continue to embrace the ideals of jefferson and franklin, where men follow their dreams, can work hard and pursue happiness, unconstrained by planners in washington, d.c., and pursue an open energy system and diversity of energy sources to create jobs and create jobs and unlimited growth and potential. the second is a future of energy scarcity, a future of energy dependency in which we abandon
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the traditions of the founding fathers, reject the american work ethic and deprive americans the ability to pursue their dream. by limiting their energy choices to only those that washington politicians and not the american people decide are worth while and sustainable. in short, in the words of benjamin franklin, we can be the happy man and pursue happiness or we can be the inch dle man and the choice is ours. we are on the path toward a future of energy scarcity rather than energy freedom. we are on a path that replaces americans' right to work hard and pursue happiness with a government-directed society in which politicians and bureaucrats restrict americans' freedom and limit their choices and the best example of this is the obama's administration war on coal. what is the impact of this great
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abundant natural resource? in 2012, coal was responsible for 37% of electricity generated in the united states, more than any other source of electricity. given current consumption rates, the united states has more than 200 and 30 years left remaining -- in coal reserves and responsible for 670,000 u.s. jobs. my home state, kentucky, has plused energy for centuries and most importantly we have produced coal. and our coal industry that has been built by the hard work of my fellow citizens of kentucky powers america. kentucky was the third largest coal-producing state and coal mining was the greatest source of energy production in the commonwealth. in 2011, coal mines employed
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more than 19,000 individuals through the year and mining directly contributed to approximately $4 billion to the commonwealth's economy. what has the war on coal brought to our country and to kentucky? domestic coal decreased by 4.6% just last year. in 2012 u.s. coal consumption for electric power declined by 11.5%. ithin the past year, 226 coal-electricity generating units have been shut down. in 2012, kentucky's overall coal production decreased by 16.3%, reaching its lowest level of production since 1965. and this has an impact on real people. u.s. coal mining jobs dropped by 7,700 in 2012.
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and new impending e.p.a. regulations will cost $1 -- 1.65 million jobs. with coal-fired generators shutting down in the coming year due to stricter environmental regulations, the united states is expected to lose up to 17,000 jobs. in my home state of kentucky, this war on coal has been devastating to my fellow citizens of kentucky. in 2012, direct employment in kentucky's coal industry decreased by over 4,000 workers. mr. speaker, this has a real impact on real lives. it's easy to sit in washington and issue regulations when you don't have to confront the human costs. i want to yield time to some of my fellow colleagues in the house. before i do, i want to tell a brief story that i think tells the story of the war on coal and why it matters to people all
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around this country. it's a story of a young coal miner that i met in my home state of kentucky whose name is chris woods. and chris commutes over an hour each way, both ways to work and back home every day. t took me in the coal mine and wanted to show me his work. and haste heroic work what these coal miners do and he took me underground and showed me what he did and as we were coming out of the mine and as i recognized what he was doing was providing low cost reliable electricity to the american people, he looked at me and said, andy, i don't know much about politics and frankly i don't care much about politics. but if you can save my job, i'm for you. and the thing about chris woods was, he wasn't thinking about himself. his one pay check takes care of
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his wife, two children and both sets of parents. this matters to people. and for every one coal mining job lost there are 3.5 additional jobs that are dependent on the coal industry. and so, mr. speaker, i look forward to having a discussion tonight about the future of coal in america, about the choices we have as a country to pursue our happiness to work hard to fulfill and embrace the founding father's vision that we should shoot for the stars that we should have energy diversity and energy freedom and reject the path we are on, a path of energy scarcity independence. with that, i would like to yield ,o the gentlelady from missouri representative wagner.
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mrs. wagner: i thank the gentleman from from kentucky and hosting this special order. i rise to discuss the importance of coal in missouri. there is no denying that coal for layed a vital energy families and businesses across this country. in missouri, coal-fired electricity is responsible for 81% of the state's electric supply and largely contribute to missouri's low electricity rate of seven cents per kilowatt haurh hour in 2011 compared to 10 cents per kilowatt. missouri was sixth in the country for coal consumption with 46 million tons of coal used for electricity in 2011, over which the plant in the second congressional plant consumed 3.5 million tons.
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the largest electric utility provides electric service to approximately 1.2 million customers across central and eastern missouri including the greater st. louis area. in addition to the consumption of coal, the greater st. louis area is also a critical player in the procurement of coal for our nation's energy needs, with companies like arch coal, peabody coal head quartered in st. louis and drawing employees to missouri's 2nd congressional district. these companies are among some of the country's and the world's largest coal providers. all of this helps in keeping energy costs low for families and for businesses. more than half of american households devote more than 20% of their family budget to energy costs and in this economy, we must do everything we can in order to keep the costs of electricity down. despite the reliance of coal in providing for this country's
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energy needs and contributing to low electricity prices, this administration has continually made it more difficult for these long-standing plants to operate and which ultimately threaten the industry for the future. existing power plants are already in the middle of meeting compliance with an e.p.a. regulation aimed at reducing uncontrolled greenhouse gas emission by 90% over three years. now, e.p.a. has proposed to regulate greenhouse gases for new power plants that will require them to meet a natural gas standard for air emissions by relying on unproven technology utilizing carbon capture and storage. the standard was originally designed for a completely different energy source and relies on technology that has not yet been commercially tested. with the e.p.a. itself estimating that this new source of performance standard rule will add around 80% to the cost
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of electricity for a new coal plant. e.p.a. has already missed their april 13 deadline to finalize the rules citing that they are still reviewing the close to two million comments that have been offered on the proposal. among these comments are submissions from 221 members of congress, including 14 democrats who all have concerns with the devastating impact that this rule will have on jobs and the economy. as a new member of congress, i would like to join my colleagues in opposition of this rule. the new source performance standard rule will deny economic benefits of new emission coal-fired plants in favor of plants that rely on commercially unproven technology to chase unrealistic and marginal environmental standards. president obama's nominee to head the e.p.a. during his second term only promises to bring the same kind of policies
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that have shut down factories and bog down companies with increased regulatory red tape during her first team. the head of the office of air quality was instrumental in the creation of these regulations that have attacked the coal industry. i applaud senator roy blunt's leadership on placing a hold on her nomination and hope my other senate colleagues will take a hard look at her previous agenda when considering her legitimacy for the position. with such an important part of our domestic energy production and economic activity at stake, the coal industry simply cannot handle four more years of the -- of the same regulatory overburden by the e.p.a. increasing costs of doing business subsequently increases
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the price of energy for households at a time when families are spending more and more of their budget on powering their homes. the amount that american households devote from their family budget to energy costs has more than doubled from 10 years ago, and these regulations on coal have all played a significant role in that. i thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. mr. barber: i thank the gentlelady and -- mr. barr: i thank the gentlelady and i appreciate her comments on the fact that certainly affordable electricity is part of this discussion and it's particularly important to recognize that the war on coal affects everybody, not just coal miners, not just people in the power industry, but seniors on fixed income. over half of american households devote more than 20% of their family budget to energy costs. more than double 10 years ago. so this matters to every middle-class family in america.
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at this time i'd like to yield time to my colleague, the gentleman from kentucky, the chair of the energy ubcommittee. mr. whitfield: i want to thank the gentleman from kentucky and those in this discussion this evening. when president obama was seeking the office you now holds, he visited san francisco and he attended a meeting in san francisco and at that meeting made the comment if he was elected president, you could still build a coal plant in america but he would bankrupt the industry. and guess what, he and his administration made it very clear, despite their comments, that they support all of the above in energy policy to produce electricity, they've made it very clear that they do not support the use of coal. the gentleman from kentucky mentioned earlier that over 205
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coal-burning plants have closed in this country in recent years. and this president's e.p.a. recently came out with a rule proposal relating to greenhouse gas emissions and that when they finalize that rule, they were supposed to have finalized it on april 13 and they did not do it, but when they finalized it would be impossible to build a new coal-powered plant in america because the technology is not available to meet the emissions standards required by e.p.a. now, let's think about that for a moment. we would be the only country in the world in which you would not be able to build a coal-powered plant to produce electricity. and we know that in china they're building more and more every day, every week, every
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month. the same thing in india, and even if germany, where they closed down their nuclear power plant, they're building more coal power plants. now, what does that mean to america if we cannot build a new coal power plant? my friend from virginia was talking about in virginia just about a year ago they built one of the cleanest burning coal power plants in america. i was in texarkana, arkansas, in december. they opened up another coal clean burning plant in arkansas. but under these new regulations, you would not be able to build any plant regardless of how clean it is. now, the sad thing about this is that we're losing jobs because of these regulations. but just as important, america is becoming less competitive in the global marketplace because it's increasing the cost of electricity and makes it much more difficult for us to
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compete in the global marketplace. and the sad thing about it is that this is being done by regulators without any public debate. it's hard to believe that a regulation administered by e.p.a. will prohibit the building of nicole power plant in america -- any coal power plant in america from that day forward unless that technology is dramatically improved. and yet there's no public debate about it. this is a decision that should be made on the floor of the house of representatives and on the floor of the united states senate. not by a group of regulators who determine that they want to put coal out of business. now, a few of our friends were talking earlier in the one minutes about climate change. america does not have to take a backseat to anyone on a clean environment.
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in fact, our co-2 emissions in america today are lower than they have been in 20 years, and our other emissions are lower than they have been in many, many years because our clean air act and our clean water act is working. but let's not use these pieces of legislation to penalize the american people and lose jobs and be less competitive in the global marketplace. so i want to thank the gentleman for sponsoring this event, and let's be mindful of the importance of coal in producing electricity in america. thank you. mr. barr: i thank the gentleman, and i think his final point was a good one that ironically the e.p.a.'s policies overly restrictive policies are actually contributing to a negative global environment. the crackdown on domestic energy production is producing
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exports to countries with inferior electrical generation capabilities. we need to unleash the free enterprise system. the american free enterprise system is what will solve problems in utility generation and in energy production. and so i thank the gentleman and i look forward to continuing to work with him on this important topic. and now i'd like to recognize the gentlelady from west virginia. ms. kapp toe: -- ms. kapp toe. -- mrs. capito: i want to thank the gentleman for yielding. i am from west virginia, the largest coal producing states in our nation. as we know, coal is a huge part of the economy in west virginia. energy is a jobs economy. whether you're generating energy in any capacity, you're generating jobs. we have over 7.6% unemployment
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across the country, and yet we have a president who wants to pick winners and losers on the energy front. and coal has been one of the president's favorite losers, as we have seen and heard from our colleagues. but there are three reasons i'm standing here today. the first why i am here is to stand up for the jobs of tens of thousands of west virginians, whether that's a coal miner, as you mentioned, transportation, shop owner, electrician, all the different fuel supplier, all the different jobs that are connected with getting to and burning our nation's most abundant resource. and i'm very concerned about. we lost 1,200 jobs in the last quarter in west virginia alone -- in the previous quarter -- last quarter of 2012. secondly, i'm here to stand up for the families and those on fixed incomes. the gentleman from kentucky brought up -- you think of the largest part of the senior who
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lives on a fixed income, the most difficult thing for them is the fluctuation in their power bill, whether it's heating or air conditioning. when you start chipping away at $50 or $100 a month, you are going to find our seniors really suffering and those who lived on fixed incomes. finally, i'm here to talk about the reliability of our electrical grid. if we disadvantage ourselves as a nation and as we have been and say, no more coal generation, no more coal-fired power plants, we're going to disadvantage ourselves as an energy economy and the manufacturing jobs that come with that. we've heard a lot about the different regulations that are out there that we tried to battle back in the house to say unacceptable, you can't regulate, you have to legislate, you have to let the body, the representatives of the people, decide who will make these decisions. we already had 266 coal-fired power plants close. permitting in our region and our region, the gentleman from kentucky, i know we got virginia here, west virginia,
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it's been very, very difficult. we have regulators coming in and have yanked back one major permit, retroactively after all of the 10 years of going through all the permitting, all of the reissuing, all of the capital investment, and the e.p.a. comes in and grabs back on that permit. the court said no, can't do that. and so we have an overreaching e.p.a. that is willing to overreach into the legal area until the courts say no more. now we've worked in the house to try to stop this war on coal. we've passed a lot of things. we did pass the stop the war on coal act last september, but unfortunately the senate did not act on this. sort of a bit of a repeating theme for us here over on the house. but, you know, the administration is seeking to turn us away from coal and keep the war on coal and drive up energy prices. people around the world are
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buying west virginia coal. our exports in west virginia doubled last year -- our exports in the nation almost doubled since 2006. and in west virginia, we exported more than $5 billion of west virginia coal. now, we all know it's going to china because they have insat demand. insatiable guess where else it's going? the netherlands, germany. they'll use this to power themselves into a burgeoning economy and we're going to disadvantage ourself here with our own natural resources. so the rest of the world wants -- i for the life of me and my colleagues here can't for the life us, and we don't have a president and administration who believes that coal has a great future in our energy mix. he always says he's for all of the above, but we all know
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standing here all of the above except. so lastly, i just want to talk -- i always try to end everything on a bit of a positive note. you know, there's some great technological advances with coal. this is why i think we got to keep coal active and in the mix and viable as our energy resource because the future for coal is very good. one of the discoveries was at ohio state university where you could basically -- they were able to do it in a laboratory experiment. we don't know if it will go full scale but the technique would release the heat from the coal without actually burning it so this is no carbon emission. that has great potential. also, another use of coal, the carbon could be used and the full development to be used commercially for enhanced oil recovery. we hear of all of the oil sands and the oil shale in the north part of our -- northern part of our country and even in west virginia. there are technologies to be able to use carbon to enhance that recovery, so we get more
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from the recovery, and i think that's something that has tremendous future for us. so we stand here today on a united front -- and i look at my colleagues and see folks from states all across this country. we formed a coal caucus. i am the chair of the coal caucus to talk to other members of caucus who don't have this passion and realistic view of the place that coal can play in our energy future. so i want to thank my colleague and all my colleagues here for fighting a good fight. we have a lot of miners and their families, other business folks, jobs and elderly folks who understand what it means to try to have availability to cheaper energy resources. manufacturers. we've got a whole lot of america behind us. this is the reason the opportunity to talk about these things tonight i think sends a powerful message across the congress, across to the senate, across to the president that really an all-of-the-above
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energy plan does include coal, must include coal and we're going to fight like heck to make sure it does. thank you. mr. barr: i thank the gentlelady. i'd like to recognize another member from the great state of west virginia, yield some time to the gentleman from west virginia. and this is not a partisan issue. it is an american issue. i am appreciative of the gentleman's attending this session tonight. mr. mckinley: thank you, mr. barr. i appreciate very much your taking this -- mr. rahall: thank you, mr. barr. i appreciate very much your taking this most plentiful, most energy and economic, efficient energy -- domestic energy resource we have, that being coal. i also come from the great state of west virginia, a state had a is proud of its heritage of mining coal, proud of its coal miners, number one, those individuals who go beneath the
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bowels of the earth to extract the energy that has fueled the industrial revolution in this country. they are brave, courageous individuals. every one of us are concerned every day about their safety, number one, their health and their retirement benefits for themselves and their families. yes, coal is a valuable natural resource, but our number one natural resource is the coal miner him or herself and so we thank them for what they do. they are courageous ndividuals. my district is both surface and deep mine, we can do both in a very environmentally sane manner a manner which produces jobs for our people, produces energy for our country and at the same time does restore our environment and make it a beautiful place in which to work. that's why we in west virginia pride ourselves on our clean
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environment, our product iver work force, our high worker -- our productive work force, our high worker morale, because we can do all the above at the same time. and we are all for -- we are for all the above, as long as that means our domestic production of resources in this country. coal literally keeps the lights on, many a county commission in my district has, during the down tons in the coal market, has had to lay off law enforcement personnel, has had to really trim the lighting of heir public streets, when coal resources are down, when coal severance taxes are down to our local county units of government. coal is important, it has been, it is, and it always willing a -- will be a mainstay of our economy in west virginia. our quality of life, indeed our quality of life in america, our economic vitality, have long
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been fueled by coal. and it's something that the american people cannot turn their back upon. yet too many, i'm afraid, fail to recognize the contributions that coal has made to our past and certainly they underestimate the role that coal can and should play in our future. through decades of investment, coal has changed for the better. it is not our grandfather's coal. it is a cleaner, more efficient fuel than ever before, and with the right kind of investments and know how and the technologies that are coming online, some of which have already been talked about this afternoon, its use continues to improve and modernize. our nation must embrace an energy strategy that encompasses a broad range of fuel choices including domestic coal if we are ever to have any hope of completely, completely freeing ourselves from our
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over-dependence on foreign fuels. this means that this nation must acknowledge the simple fact that coal has been and for the foreseeable future must be part of a comprehensive national energy strategy that will enable taos grow our economy, remain strong militarily, and help to influence environmental and economic challenges around the globe. coal is a critical element for ensuring afordable, abundant an reliable energy that fuels the opportunities and way of life we cherish here in the united states of america. so as a representative of coal mining communities, and generations of coal mining families, i will continue the good fight in the congress for the future of coal, for the health and safety of our america's coal miners and as the gentleman from kentucky has said, it is a bipartisan issue and i wish there were more from my side of the aisle here this evening but perhaps they will submit comments for the record
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and i do hope that many more of my colleagues that may not be with us on the floor this evening will come forth and express their support for coal as a valuable domestic source of energy. i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. barr: i thank the gentleman from virginia, i thank his comments and appreciate his sentiment about the courageous men and women who go to work every day in our coal mines. i can't thank their contributions every day in going to work in the mines every day to supply us with clean, affordable electricity. with that, i yield to the entlelady from missouri. >> thank you. i'm glad to have this opportunity to condemn the obama war on coal because that's what it is. coal provides over 81% of
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missouri's electric power generation and missouri ranks 11th in the nation in energy affordability. so that means the people of missouri have more money they can spend on other things for their family and it also attracts businesses to our state. we want to keep it that way. we love coal in missouri and we appreciate the role that it plays in having affordable, safe energy in our country. i wanted to show this picture to you, my colleagues here, because a lot of people think in missouri we don't have coal mines but i want to tell you in the fourth district of missouri we have a coal mine. mrs. hartzler: this is a picture. my husband and i had the opportunity to go there and i snapped a few pictures. we are so proud of it. these hardworking people here are doing a great job in getting coal out of the ground and taking it to our local power plants. this coal mine is providing great jobs in my district. these are high-paying, skilled jobs and i know some of the
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people that work here and they appreciate this opportunity. but it also this mine is bringing in property taxes to our local schools. it's helping the economy, the entire county this region of the district. plus it is powering two of our local power plants nearby. so this is very exciting for us and we want to see this continue rather than have the current administration through the e.p.a. try to rein this in and force us to rely on more expensive, untested energy sources in our country. you know, president obama and the e.p.a. are pushing this overprescriptive regulatory agenda without adequate cost benefit analysis, workable timelines and input from the industry. and both of the proposed and current regulations being promoted by the e.p.a. are having sweeping negative impacts on coal-fueled
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electricity generation in this country. according to the national economic resorgee -- research associates, it is estimated that compliance costs of these e.p.a. regulations on the electric sector will average $15 billion to $16 billion per year and who pays for that? who is going to pay for the extra cost -- extra cost to our electric industry, $15 billion to $16 billion? i'll tell you who, it's the families in my district who are living from paycheck to paycheck and who are struggling to put food on the table. when they see that -- when they see their electric bill go up every month because of the e.p.a. coming here from washington, d.c. and imposing these regulations on our electric industry, that's who ends up paying and it's wrong. it's also costing jobs. the same group estimated that these regulations are going to cost a half a million jobs this next year. now we have too much
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unemployment in this country already. why would the government administration from this president be pushing regulations that's going to kick out a half a million more people from being able to work? just in missouri alone, the cost is expected to be $500 per household in higher electricity bills. it's wrong. i want to just point out two of these regulations that are driving this cost and impact them. some of my colleagues mentioned several of them already. but these two i wanted to bring your attention to. the new source performance standards for new coal units are establishing new guidelines that control carbon dioxide emissions from any newly constructed coal and natural gas power plants. this proposal require nuss coal units to meet a standard so low that it effectively is going to ban new coal plants and my friend and colleagues from kentucky did a very good job of
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illustrating this. i want to reiterate, though, the quote from our president about this administration. he said, he admitted in 2008 that his goal was to bankrupt new coal-fired power plants that is wrong. here is what he said. if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant they can. it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted. now it's frustrating to me that the obama administration, our president, would target an industry that's providing clean, affordable energy for our country, providing jobs in my district and across the country and keeping that electricity bill at home low for our families, but he is. and the second regulation that he is talking about is going to impact what's called coal ash and try to make it a hazardous waste. this is something that is not hazardous. and it is going to increase the
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cost of cement. now we need cement, we're building new highways, we need it in our building new homes, we need it for businesses that are building. why would we do this that's going to increase the cost of -- for that. we have in missouri five cement plants that provide 12,000 jobs, yet if this continues to go through, we're going to see an increase in cement costs. so here, gentlemen, we have two examples of regulations coming out of washington here. they are increasing the cost for our families at home and they're killing jobs and increasing our electricity costs. it's wrong and i will continue to stand against it and i appreciate all my colleagues as we stand together tonight against this and we make a stand for low cost, reliable energy and that is coalened i commend you for having this and i encourage all my colleagues to join us in this very important effort. thank you.
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mr. barr: i appreciate the gentlelady and her stand for the coal industry, one of the rules she was referring, to theulityity mact rule, the e.p.a. estimates it to cost $10 billion a year but other independent cost estimates range from $70 billion to $200 billion, well above the e.p.a. estimate. it's no wonder that within the past year, 226 coal electricity generating units have shut down. with that, i'd like to regulate the gentleman from pennsylvania. >> thank you, mr. barr. thank you for holding this this evening because it's important we understand what's going on with coal. when america is looking for energy, they went to coal and coal has always been there for us. it is abundant, it is accessible, it is truly american. this is the part i just don't. -- don't get. you heard ms. hartser talk about the president's campaign
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statement, he said if you want to use coal you can but we'll bankrupt you. this doesn't make any sense to anybody who understand what is america needs right now, jobs. mr. kelly: 40% of pennsylvania's electricity is produced using coal. in addition to keeping electricity affordable, the coal industry contributes more than $7 billion annually to the commonwealth of the economy. it's about jobs, jobs, jobs. this is a president who just doesn't get it he talks about all of the above when it comes to energy but he forgets all that's below he turns his back on coal, looks to renewables that are very expensive and make no sense to the average american and the hardworking american people who produce this coal, our miners, we have not only shut down their mine well, shut down their power plants and we're ruining their communities. we're absolutely ruining communities right now. i couldn't understand what was so horrible about this product.
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i heard the president describe it many times. i grew up in a coal-producing community. i have friends that have rose bud, but i went to consul and i went to the down to the bailey mine, i went 700 feet underground to see this horrible, horrible product that the president absolutely hates. wants to eliminate. while i was there i was trying to figure out, where is it so bad? i watched as they did the long mine, how it shaved the coal off the wall, it's being drenched with a fine mist and there's vacuums taking the coal dust out. i sat there, as far away from the machine as you, having a conversation with somebody, the guy i was talking to said, i've done this for 40 years. when i first started i had to do it on my hands and knees, i laid on my back and used a pick. the reason i did that is because i was married and my wifened ahad dreams. we wanned to buy a house, raise a family, educate those kids
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and we wanted to live our life. and i did it through coal mining. but the way it is now, this is incredible. i stood in a room that was at least 10 to to -- 10 to 12 feet high and 30 feet wide and watched the coal miner shave the face of the coal off the wall and then extract it. now it doesn't make sense to me or to anybody else who is a commonsense person, what are you trying to do, mr. president? in erie, pennsylvania, where g.e. transportation is they built locomotives. the locomotives haul trains, those trains haul coal, there's been a 20% reduction in coal. do you know what that did to g.e.? they don't have to build as many locomotives. we have 3,000 locomotives sitting idle. why? in a country looking for jobs, why is this president eliminating jobs? look, it doesn't make any sense. it doesn't make any sense. as we go forward, i'd like this president to take a look at energy, all of the above.
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what would make us great as a country. energy independence. that's what we need. low cost energy. we have it right here, right now. when coal wins, america wins. and when america wins, well all win. this isn't a republican initiative or democrat initiative, this is about america. america's strategy, america's answer to energy independence. coal is a big part of that, has to continue to be a big part of that. so i thank you for what you're doing, we'll keep fighting for coal, we're not going to give up, we're not going home, mr. rahall spoke eloquently about it but all these folks from coal producing areas, let me tell you about pennsylvania, fourth leading coal producing state in the country, third largest state in terms of coal produced by the underground mining method and first in terms of total coal extracted by long wall mining technology. we win with coal. we put people to work with coal. we lower our energy costs with coal, we win the battle in the world economy because our cost of nrning is lower, which
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allows us to pay higher wages to all those folks out there right now who are struggling, hardworking american taxpayers, why in the world would we take from them right now low cost energy and condemn it because it doesn't meet this president's standards? time for us to fight back and fight back hard. as americans. mr. barr, i thank you so much for what you're doing. mr. barr: i thank the gentleman and his comments, the comments about the railroads reminds me of a quick story about my district in kentucky, a little town. this community was built on the railroads. those railroads carried the coal out of perry county and harlan county and bell county and all those counties -- counties in southeast kentucky. these communities were built on the railroads. today, furloughed railroaders. their families without jobs, without a paycheck. and this is because of the war on coal. one of the furloughed railroaders told me that just a few years ago, 120 trains would
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come through their community full of coal. now barely 50 come through every month. so this has real impact for real people, middle class americans losing their jobs, the war on coal is hurting the american people. unemployment is higher than the national average in our county because of this president's war on coal. so i thank the gentleman. now i'd like to recognize the gentleman from indiana to talk about coal in indiana. >> thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of our coal industry and the men and women who work in the industry. you see, i grew up in a small town in illinois, 1,400 people, where my dad was a united mine worker for 36 years. all my friends' parents worked in the coal mine. coal created good middle class jobs for those who lived in my hometown. i've been down in these mines in my hometown when i was a kid and recently in my district
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now, in southwestern indiana. i've met the proud, hardworking coal miners and i've seen the impact their hard work has on the local economy. in 2010 indiana mined around 36 million tons of coal and consumed nearly 65 million tons. mr. bucshon: currently indiana has more energy underground in the form of coal reserves than the entire united states does in oil and gas reserves. indiana's demonstrated coal reserve base of over 17 billion short tons is enough to maintain the current level of production in indiana for 500 years. the reserve base for the entire illinois basin, which includes indiana coal, is over 130 billion tons, enough to meet the entire u.s. coal demands for the next 100 years. 88% of all electricity generated in indiana is from coal and i'm proud to say that all of that coal production is in my district. this natural resource is vital to our state's energy industry
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and supports over 3,300 direct mining jobs and approximately 12,000 indirect mining jobs. 27% of indiana's g.d.p. is from manufacturing dependent on coal-fired electrical generation. mr. speaker, we cannot deny that coal is vitally important to indiana's economy as well as our nation's. despite the immense impact coal has on our economy, onerous federal regulations can often be an obstacle for this industry. i'm pleased to say that the administration actually recently responded to a request by myself and our two indiana senators to give a permit to a company creating 100 joshes in my area -- jobs in my area. but this is unusual. the coal industry under this administration should not have to navigate the overaggressive and ideological regulatory climate coming out of the e.p.a. my safety and health
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administration or msha, recently has proposed outlandish rules that are nearly impossible to follow. as has been previously stated, they can't be followed. there's no technology that will meet these standards. these proposed rules are oftentimes, as i just stated, impossible to meet, and they fail to examine the science. i was a heart surgeon in my previous career and i can tell you i didn't practice medicine based on ideology or anecdote, i practiced it based on fact, scientific fact. many of the regulations do not have the backing of science. mr. speaker, we need a sound energy policy to thank supports our nation's coal industry, to lower the cost of electricity, create jobs and make our businesses more competitive internationally. i'm proud to stand here today to support coal in indiana and across america and i yield back my time and thank you, mr. barr, for holding this special
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order. i appreciate it. mr. barr: i thank the gentleman and i recognize the gentleman rom montana. mr. daines: i want to thank the gentleman from kentucky. i stand with my colleagues to show support for an all-of-the-above energy strategy. montana possesses an abundance of hydropower, of oil, of sun, of wind, of natural gas and of coal. and coal is a very important piece of that equation. coal provides the fuel for roughly 40% of electricity used in the united states. you know, i see the electric cars going out on the street and i'm not opposed to electric cars but they ought to say powered by coal on them in terms of understanding where the source of the power is to power these electric cars. coal keeps energy costs low. it helps keep american businesses competitive and allows middle class americans to keep more of their hard-earned dollars during these challenging economic times. in montana we are seeing firsthand the critical role that coal plays in the energy sector. in my home state, it creates hundreds of jobs.
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it fosters important relationships with our indians reservations, being a leader in coal production for our country and leading the way in coal exports. i support this industry because in montana, it enables more young montanans to put their training and education to work and to stay at home with their job instead of exporting our talent to other places so grandma and grandpa have to fly to see the grandkids versus visiting them next door. you see, in my home state of montana, we boast the largest coal reserve in the nation. the paddle river basin, which spans across southern montana and northern wyoming, contains nearly 3.4 billion tons of coal reserves. i recently met with representatives from arch coal, a company that's ready to invest millions of dollars in developing a coal mine in southeastern montana. developing the resources creates jobs, injects millions of dollars in the economy, it helps lower energy costs and importantly it creates tax evenues for our schools.
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a company signed a contract with a tribe to open access to coal on the river basin which would help inject millions of dollars in the crow economy. they said they have a vision of becoming financially independent on the reservation because of these coal opportunities. these are exciting opportunities but the industry's under attack. fringe environmental groups continue to pressure the administration and others to slow production and slow economic development. this must change. as montana's congressman, i'm determined to working for commonsense reforms that ensure natural resources like coal can be developed responsibly and i thank the rest of my colleagues here tonight for helping do the same. i yield back. mr. barr: thank you. i now would like to yield to the gentleman from illinois. >> i'd like to thank the
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gentleman from kentucky for doing this special order tonight and it's an honor for me to also follow my colleague from indiana, mr. bucshon, who talked about his hometown of kinkade, illinois. and talked about the importance growing of up coal mining in that community. i represent kinkade, illinois, right now in the 13th congressional district of illinois. and over 20 years ago, just over 20 years ago, these miners lost their jobs because of deliberations and the eventual stroke of a pen here in washington, d.c. it became cheaper to import coal from the western united states, to burn at the power plant across the street from this coal mine where these miners worked, than it was to dig it out from underground, ship it on an electronic conveyer belt across the street and burn it. over 1,200 miners that day lost their jobs. those were congressman bucshon's friends. those were my friends' parents.
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it hit our local economy harder than anything we had seen. but our local economy has since recovered. but we cannot forget that these deliberations in this great body have an impact on all of america's families. mr. davis: and these coal miners of 20 years ago are no different than the coal mining families of today and we need to make sure we think of them every single time we see this war on coal, that we stand together, mr. barr, and fight. thank you. war barr i thank the gentleman -- mr. barr: i thank the gentleman. i'd like to yield the floor to the gentleman from pennsylvania. >> i thank the gentleman from kentucky and i rise today in solidarity with the middle class workers and families who call western pennsylvania home. president obama's war on coal is a threat to their livelihood and to our communities. from the mine and power plant workers who have received pink slips because of misguided regulations, to middle class moms who are trying to pay monthly utility bills, to the
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restaurants and barber shops and other small businesses concerned about costs, president obama's onerous regulations will negatively impact our communities. coal is an essential part of our economy and infrastructure. it is an abundant, affordable and reliable source of energy that powers our street lights, schools and factories. coal-fired power plants generate 40% of electricity in pennsylvania and 37% around the country. electricity derived from coal is more affordable for families and businesses. mr. rothfus: there is a war on coal in this country and it needs to stop. it's time to keep the lights on in america, it's time to relight america and we need to do that here in this house and stop this war on coal. and i thank the gentleman from kentucky and i yield back. mr. barr: i thank the gentleman and i'd like to yield the floor o the gentlelady from wyoming.
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mrs. lummis: i thank the gentleman for yielding and hosting this special order. wyoming is the largest coal producing state in the nation. has been since 1986. the 10 largest coal mines in the united states are in the state of wyoming. and we're having trouble exporting our coal. even if americans don't want to use it, and would disadvantage themselves in comparison to other countries, we'd like to send it overseas to people who want it. who wants it? i'll show you. china, india, even turkey wants our coal. and here's the united states, this little dot. this is all the united states wants. it's silly. silly, given this tremendous resource that the united states has. that produces jobs and revenue and electricity that keeps our manufacturing competitive. to have to send it to those other countries.
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they want it because they want what we have. they want inexpensive, affordable, abundant energy so their people can manufacture. we need to protect these jobs in manufacturing, we need to protect the affordability and the reliability by keeping these resources working at home. for americans. with american energy. i yield back. mr. barr: i thank the gentlelady and i appreciate all of my colleagues here this evening, talking about and highlighting the importance of the future of energy freedom in this country and independence. and i'd like to yield the balance of our time to the gentleman from california. >> i appreciate my colleague from kentucky having this conversation tonight and ayou a -- and allowing know speak on
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it. being from california, we don't have a lot of coal in california and we don't really use a lot of it either. but what i'd like to point out is that we have a very similar plight in that many of our industries have been devastated by out-of-control regulations by federal government. our timber industry, mining, our ability to trap more water for our water supply and agriculture's being affected by over-reaching regulations. mr. lamborn: but also coal's very important -- mr. la malfa: but coal's also very important to our nation. with a mandate coming down and the president's very aggressive remarks saying that coal is a thing of the past, we're going to put our country in great peril by devastating this industry. for our electricity grid, for all the many jobs that are all over the eastern part of this country, and part of the west, we're really going to hurt ourselves in this country with this type of policy.
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so, in california, we've seen the effects, for example, in that we've seen a mandate, a self-inflicted mandate, that makes it where california can no longer use coal and we've devolved down to only 8%. as part of our grid. and getting lower. so we're going to be seeing higher and higher energy costs in our state. why would we want to do this to the rest of our nation here? california's energy costs approached 14 cents per kilowatt while the nation's averages about 10 cents. that's why we've seen an exodus of business coming from california moving to other states. if we do this on our entire country, we're going to see a bigger exodus to places like china where they don't have our environmental regulations and china's smoke comes over in the jet stream and affects california. we're going backwards with this type of mandate, with this type of policy. so for many reasons i think it's key we support the coal industry in america for our
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economy, for our electricity grid and for those who want to be agitators against coal, they should be the first ones to sit in the dark, in the cold from not having electricity on the grid. yield back. mr. barr: i thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from california, mr. vargas is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. vargas: thank you very much, madam speaker, i appreciate it. i would first like to say and take a moment to remember the victims of the boston attack, certainly my prayers and the prayers of all of us here go to the families and everyone avetted. i had the great opportunity to
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go to harvard law school as spent three years there, i ran the marathon once. usually when you finish the marathon it's a great celebration. the incredible time, the people there are so friendly so nice, and everyone is excited, so what this horrible tragedy has done is unbelievable. our prayers go out to each and every one affected. i also rise today in recognition of the need for our great nation to address immigration reform. tomorrow, many evangelical churches are scheduled to come to the capitol to pray far just and merciful immigration reform and i want to welcome them here. i think it is about time that we listen to some of the voices they say, additionally, your action will encourage immigrant and refugee community members and their supporters by demonstrating that their city representatives understand and support the call for reforming immigration laws. we all recognize in recent years the failure of congress to
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reform immigration laws have led to great hardships for too many people who live in fear. in san diego, we have witnessed the devastatin

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